Footprint reaches 5.7 million premises, 2.4 million active services and $1billion revenue 

In the 12 months ended 30 June 2017:

• The number of premises ready for service almost doubled from 2.9 million to 5.7 million (2017 Corporate Plan target: 5.4 million);
• The number of homes and businesses with an active nbn™ service more than doubled from 1.1 million to 2.4 million (2017 Corporate Plan target: 2.3 million);
• With the increase in end users, revenue more than doubled from $421 million to $1 billion (2017 Corporate Plan target: $900 million);
• ARPU $43 (FY2016: $43); and
• Best Employer indices have improved; nbn remains in the top quartile of Australian and New Zealand companies.

nbn today announced it had exceeded its three core FY2017 targets and remained confident it would connect Australia to fast broadband on time and budget.

While reaching significant construction scale and doubling the number of end users on the network, nbn achieved a number of additional highlights for the period.

During the year, nbn: launched its second satellite Sky Muster™ II into space; announced the introduction of Fibre-to-the-Curb technology; secured funding to complete the rollout; reached the halfway built mark; and, applied a new CVC discounting model for retailers. The company also announced forthcoming product enhancements including an increase to the Sky Muster™ data cap; and, a 100/40Mbps wholesale product on Fixed Wireless.

Building a high performance network

nbn delivered a significant year of construction almost doubling the entire footprint to 5.7 million homes ready for service, passing the halfway mark.

When looking at the non-metro footprint alone, the nbn™ network is two thirds completed.  The metro footprint is one third completed with a strong focus on construction in major cities scheduled for FY2018.

nbn CEO Bill Morrow said:

“To almost double the footprint again on the back last year’s efforts is incredible progress and means many more Australians will have access to fast broadband sooner.

“The momentum has seen the team deliver a record 140,000 premises to the footprint in one week, putting us clearly at the centre of our peak construction period.  Our delivery partners and nbn employees have worked tirelessly to reach this incredible pace,” he said. 

During the financial year, nbn added another 2.8 million premises to its footprint, exceeding its forecast by 300,000 premises.

“Looking ahead, FY2018 is another significant construction year, and arguably the most visible and difficult as we rollout in high-density cities.  We are taking our learnings from the first half of the build, and applying them to ensure greater serviceability and efficiencies, particularly as we introduce Fibre-to-the-Curb into the mix,” said Mr Morrow.

Approaching 50,000 weekly activations

The number of premises connected to retail services on the nbn™ network grew by 122 per cent during the period to 2.4 million premises drawing $1 billion in revenue.

While nbn recognised some issues have been raised with the activation process, take-up is both earlier and stronger than expected.  At the end of the 18-month migration window, of those who can connect to the nbn™ network more than 75 per cent have done so. This is higher than nbn’s forecast take-up rate, with the majority of connections now occurring in the first six months of the migration window.

nbn CEO Bill Morrow added:

“While we have seen a higher volume of issues when connecting, they do remain relative to the pace of the build and reach of the network. We continue to improve our processes and integration with those of our delivery partners and retailers for seamless access to retail services on the nbn™ network,” said Mr Morrow.

“The vast majority of people using the nbn™ network are satisfied and we are certainly listening to those who are not. This past year, industry end-user satisfaction results reinforced the need for simple public information, openness about the network’s capability in comparison to speed packages purchased, and for us all to improve our processes for connections, troubleshooting and complaint escalations.  We listen, we adjust, we learn and improve,” he said.

“nbn performed well against plan in fiscal 2017, and continues to with almost six million homes and businesses able to connect and nearly three million using services on the network today. The momentum is undeniable.”